Malkin was held scoreless as the Penguins were eliminated by the New York Rangers in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round. Malkin said afterward that he wasn't playing with a significant injury as some had speculated, but that he did require some rest.

Malkin tied Sidney Crosby for the Penguins goal-scoring lead during the regular season with 28 and had 70 points in 69 games.

The 2015 World Championship will be played in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. Russia, which is in Group B along with the United States, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Belarus, Slovenia and Denmark, opens its schedule May 1 against Norway.